The invention relates to an electromotive furniture drive, especially for seating and reclining furniture.
Such electromotive furniture drives are known in various embodiments. They are implemented as linear drives having a linearly adjustable output element or as rotational drives having a rotating output element and have proven themselves extremely well in practice. The linear drives have one or a number of electric motors, wherein a speed reduction gear is connected downstream of each motor and a further gear in the form of a threaded spindle gear for example is connected downstream of the speed reduction gear, which further gear generates a linear movement of the output element from the rotational movement of the motor. The rotational drives have at least one speed reduction gear connected downstream of the respective electric motor, wherein the last gearing element forms the output element. The output element of the respective electromotive furniture drive is connected to a fixed furniture component and/or to a movable furniture component, so that the movable furniture components are adjusted relative to one another in the event of operation of the electric motor. The furniture can be implemented as a slatted frame, worktable, bed, reclining surface, treatment couch, hospital or healthcare bed, and also a lifting device for persons such as lifters or patient lifters.
It is common practice to provide such electromotive furniture drives with a so-called mains isolation circuit, which separates such drives from the electric supply network to a higher or lesser extent when not in use.
Furniture, especially seating/reclining furniture, is furniture which is mobile within an apartment, i.e. it can be positioned or placed in a living room at different locations. A TV chair is often repositioned and can change its position within a room depending on the time of day and the available daylight. It can be disadvantageous if fixed electrical connections to a socket outlet or long cables are connected to the furniture drive. One solution to this problem occurs by rechargeable battery units (accumulators) on the piece of furniture itself. A charger can be used for charging the battery units when this is required. The piece of furniture can be moved in the room without any disturbing cables. The adjusting drives can be supplied at any time and at any location by the battery unit with electrical power for adjustment.
If the battery unit is discharged, a certain period of time is required for recharging by the charger until sufficient electric power is available for drive adjustment. For this reason power supplies are known which are not arranged as a charger but as a mains power supply for the adjusting drives. Accordingly, the rechargeable battery is associated with a charging circuit which is ideally arranged in the housing of the rechargeable battery. This can lead to disadvantages however.
If the rechargeable battery changes its shape for any reason whatsoever, the housing and the charging circuit need to be adapted accordingly. A large number of electrically identical, but also similar rechargeable batteries are available on the market, but which show relevant geometrical differences among each other. If another rechargeable battery needs to be mounted or if a supplier substantially changes the geometrical dimensions, a new housing needs to be created. This also applies in the case that the specifications or the type of the rechargeable battery changes, and therefore a similar rechargeable battery or a different rechargeable battery is provided for mounting in the furniture drive, for which reason the charging circuit needs to be changed substantially.